Swiss government says assisted suicide capsule does not meet safety standards

Suicide isn’t known to be a particularly safe or well-regulated practice, but it is legal in Switzerland, under certain conditions. Unfortunately, people who want to end their lives through medically induced suicide near the snowy Alps have to do it the right way. The creators of a euthanasia device learned that lesson the hard way this week when the first known use of the device resulted in multiple arrests and claims by government officials that it violated government safety regulations.

The Sarco pod — a 3D-printed capsule that releases nitrous oxide gas at the click of a button — is the brainchild of a group calling itself The Last Resort. The group, which claims to be made up of “a small international group of human rights advocates (with backgrounds in law, science, medicine, and healthcare)” says its mission is to “diversify (and improve) assisted dying in Switzerland.” The Sarco pod is designed to put its user to sleep in seconds using nitrous oxide gas. The gas then rapidly lowers the oxygen levels in the pod until the person dies, a process that is supposed to take minutes.

The pod is equipped with wheels and is built to be mobile, so users can transport it to beautiful, idyllic locations. The experience is also said to be quite peaceful. The device’s creator, an Australian doctor named Philip Nitschke, likened it to the feeling you might have on a plane whose cabin has been depressurized. “We know from survivors that it doesn’t feel like suffocation,” Nitschke recently told a Swiss publication. “You just breathe. After half a minute, people start to feel disoriented. They really don’t realize what’s happening to them. There’s often a feeling of mild euphoria. And then they just go away.”

The Sarco pod was originally granted legal permission for public use in Switzerland in 2021, but the device has been embroiled in controversy ever since. It was first used Monday when an American woman allegedly took her own life in the countryside near the German border. The Last Resort reported the death in a short post on its website, and Nitschke said on social media that the woman’s death was an “idyllic, peaceful death in a Swiss forest.”

While that may be true, the initial use of the device appears to have been a complete disaster for all involved. Multiple people have been arrested in connection with the woman’s death since Monday, The Guardian reports, noting that the local prosecutor’s office “has opened an investigation into suspicion of inciting and aiding suicide.” It is not yet clear who has been arrested.

What exactly went wrong — from a legal perspective — is also unclear, although government officials have criticized the device for failing to comply with local safety regulations. Elisabeth Baume-Schneider, the country’s health minister, told the Swiss House of Representatives that the device did not meet government safety requirements and therefore could not be sold on the market, local outlet Swiss Info reports.

Switzerland is one of the few places in the world where assisted suicide is legal. In most cases, that’s a good thing. There are plenty of horror stories about people who may have, say, an incredibly painful terminal illness but can’t legally end their lives in their home country.

If you or someone you know is in crisis or is thinking about suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 or text HOME to 741-741 to be connected to a volunteer on the Crisis Text Line.